New Area Added to Colombia’s National Parks System

In August, Churumbelos Auka Wasi was added to Colombia’s premier national parks system thanks to the technical assistance of two MacArthur grantees, World Wildlife Fund and the Amazon Conservation Team. The park is one of the most important areas for conservation of Andean and Amazon biodiversity, covering over 230,000 acres and containing 25 percent of Colombia’s bird species and 17 percent of its mammals. Ingas and Yanaconas indigenous communities also inhabit the park, a portion of which is considered sacred. With its declaration, these and other native groups will be able to protect ancestral territories and strengthen their cultural practices. The area is part of the Northern Andes region, one of eight areas of the world that are the focus of MacArthur's conservation grantmaking.